Outdoor Environments And Risks Of Children 's Outdoor Play

Article 24 Play and recreation activities can play a significant role in fulfilling the child’s right to “the highest attainable standard of health” and to “preventive health care”,

Also it is important that children have the opportunities to experience risk and challenge play as this is important for children's and young people's play and learning. It is important that children and young people are given the opportunities for risk and challenge play as it will help give children a better understanding of what is safe and unsafe such as if they was to touch something hot they will know not to do it again because they will know they will burn them self. Some parents do not let their children take risk and challenges as they think its to dangerous for the children. When practitioners provide opportunities for risk and challenge play it is important that it is taken place in a safe environment. Also when risk and challenge

Children need to experiment outdoors as there is so much to learn. Children can learn in each of the areas and develop their skills. During play children are learning to socialise with each other, playing in small groups and taking turns which builds there confidence up. They also develop their motor skills through playing outdoors, running, jumping, walking and crawling. Children will learn to take risks

There are many advantages to child-initiated play. Children’s emotional development is particularly supported because children are able to make their own choices. They also gain independence skills as they can help themselves to resources. This type of play helps children to be creative as they have to develop their own ideas of how to play indoors and outdoors.

The Playwork Principles (2006) state “All children and young people need to play. The impulse to play is innate”.

In the article “Can a Playground Be Too Safe?”, J. Tierney questions the value of safety-first playgrounds and argues that it is unfavorable for the emotional development of children. Indeed, Tierney explains that not confronting kids to the dangers and risks will not help them overcome their fears. Throughout this article, the author produced a well-rounded piece by using ethical, emotional and logical appeals.

8. Evaluate different approaches to managing risk during children and young peoples play. An approach to managing risk could be to talk to those children involved with e.g. play fighting and if they got too carried away I would stop them from playing together. Another approach would be to provide crash mats if children are playing on an indoor climbing frame, I would place them underneath to steady their fall so they don’t injure themselves too badly.

Spenser’s (1875) ‘surplus energy theory’ states “play is the result of surplus energy that exists because the young are freed from the business of self-preservation through the activities of their parents” (cited in Evans and Pellegrini, 2006, p233). This corresponds to the common view that the playground is the space for physical play. I have witnessed this during sessions at the children’s centre when parents encourage their children to ‘go run off their extra energy’. Yet if the weather is bad, as I previously commented parents do not wish for their child to play outside. There is only one family that I see regularly that I know that whatever the weather allows their child the choice to play outside and

Modern-day, stresses and nerves – and, it ought to be said, an open-air world which truly is less youngster amicable than ever before – has prompted a hazard opposed a culture that discovers expression in oppressive well-being and security arrangements which neglect to measure the advantages of a given movement against the dangers included. Suppliers of kids' play areas, in a similar manner as numerous open administrations, are in dread in case of even minor scratches. So they progressively blunder in favour of alert, putting intensely in effect retaining surfaces and gear that thoroughly meets well-being gauges yet regularly needs genuine play value.Free and unstructured play in the outside lifts critical thinking abilities, centre and self-restraint. Socially, it enhances participation, adaptability, and mindfulness. Enthusiastic advantages incorporate diminished animosity and expanded happiness.Children will be more quick-witted, better ready to coexist with others, more beneficial and more joyful when they have normal open doors for nothing and unstructured play in the out-of-entryways. In a current study a third of kids believed that there was a leaf that can soothe a nettle sting; as per the review, more than seventy-percent of the youngsters that participated in the research have never climbed a tree. Abominable! Ask anybody more than forty to relate to you their most loved recollections of adolescence play, and few will be inside. Less still will include a grown-up.

Any activity a child does involve some risk even something as simple as painting. If the activity is well planned and organized, with thought given to possible risks, the likelihood of an accident or injury should be minimal. The secret is to balance the risk of an activity against the

As a practitioner, we need to acknowledge how important play and leisure activities can be one of the cruel factor of a child’s development; Throughout my experience I have witnessed play to be extremely important to children’s and young people’s wellbeing and development.

We need to ensure that there is adequate space for children and enough adults to control them. The younger children are at higher risk and therefore to minimise risk enough space is required. Good amount of space also needs to be uncluttered to avoid any slips, trips or falls. To meet this requirement of space; the room should be large so that children can do their required work easily, the arrangement of the toys and equipment are easy to use, to provide optimum space where children get chance to play ,reduce the risk from bumping in to each other, and therefore the number of children included should not be more than the space allows, to ensure that outdoor play area is sufficient for bikes, wheel toys and other resources and has enough

Kids love to play outside with their outdoor toys, because that is their job. The job of the parents is to ensure that diligent attention is paid to the children at play. The National Program for Playground Safety has reported that inadequate supervision contributed to about 40 percent of all playground injuries. Swing set safety guidelines have been developed to guide parents, childcare providers and school officials to the best measures to prevent accidents on playground equipment. In addition to supervision, the child should be instructed on how to play safely, and the caregiver should ensure that the child is wearing appropriate play clothes and sturdy shoes.

As children grow they continue to need physical activity. One of the methods of exercise that is popular with children in the middle childhood age is rough and tumble play or ‘play fighting’ (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010). Unfortunately, this sort of play is often discouraged by schools because of the possibility that someone may become injured. (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010). Teachers must find the balance between protecting children from getting hurt and allowing them to run and jump to release the copious amounts of energy that they have to burn (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010).

Parental and adult concern for the child’s safety and security means that the range of places in which children can play has shrunk, particularly in urban areas. Traffic volumes, development of green spaces and fear for children being out and about without adult supervision contributes to a contraction of freedom for children. Additionally, it would appear that children are spending increasing time in front of computers and televisions with consequent health risks, including diminished outdoor play, physical inactivity and obesity.